text:
Set in New Orleans, Contraband is Mark Whalberg's new thriller about smuggling on container ships. He plays a blue-collar family man who's sworn off his former life of crime, until his brother-in-law botches a drug deal and needs his help in order to repay the debt. Whalberg agrees to do one last job, running contraband from Panama on a container ship. Kate Beckinsale plays Whalberg's wife, Ben Foster his best friend and business partner, and Giovanni Ribisi plays a New Orleans drug runner.
A remake of the Icelandic film Reykjavík-Rotterdam (2008), Contraband is directed by Baltasar Kormákur, who played the lead character in the original. At the press conference in New York, Kormákur spoke to a room of journalists about how the project came together, the choice of cinematographer Barry Ackroyd (The Hurt Locker), and his thoughts on the film's moral ambiguity. Hit the jump for the interview.
Question: I think you're probably one of Iceland's most famous directors here—what made you want to do a remake of an Icelandic film? How did you get involved in it and what was your approach to the material?
BALTASAR KORMÁKUR: Well this project was brought me to me in Iceland and I actually thought that the director of the original was asking me to produce the film. Originally though he was actually asking me to act in it. And I had pulled out of acting for a long time. I started my career as an actor and then I started directing in theatre and in movies and I just decided I couldn't do all. I didn't really want to direct myself in my own movies—I don't think that's usually very wise—and therefore I wasn't expecting that. But I really loved the idea of the project and I hadn't seen that world been portrayed, of smuggling on containers ships, and I think it's actually a bigger world than people realize. I really loved the character of Kristófer in the Icelandic version, and so I did also think that this movie could possibly play stronger as an American movie because of the crime world. I'm sorry to say it's bigger in America than in Iceland, of the three hundred thousand people that we have! And therefore I thought, this kind of movie could even play better. And we did the movie and I produced it and I run the kind of main production company in Iceland today. And then I brought it to my agents in the states and they loved the idea of this. And I had actually seen a lot of scripts that had, you know, crime scripts, thrillers, and I just—in my steps, stepping out of the independent world and foreign language filmmaking into this world of yours, you don't necessarily get all the best projects sent to you. So I thought, I'd rather create something out of what I've been creating and take the step with something I'm more confident with, and something I love. Because ten years ago when I did my first film 101 Reykjavík I got a lot of attention from the studios and from people making movies here, but I never found the right project that I really wanted to attach myself to. So I went back and did more films, wanted to be better prepared if this would come my way. And then I thought this was the right moment to take this step and this project was something that I could be proud of, and luckily I brought it to Mark Whalberg and he responded very positively.
Was it easy to adapt for the American audience. Also, I've read that you enjoy doing stage, can you talk a little about that?
KORMÁKUR: Well I started directing as a stage director. I did a lot of stage work. I've done it around the world, in England and Scandinavia. A lot of Shakespeare; I'm a big Shakespeare fan (laughs). And you know, contemporary work as well, even musicals. I did Rent, for example. But I felt it very important—because I've written most of my scripts myself—and I thought it very important to get someone who was more into American culture and knew it better than myself to do that. So we got Aaron Guzikowski who had read the screenplay Prison, that hasn't been produced yet—a fantastic script—and also working with, you know, American producers, making this real and possible. And what we did, we actually went a year ahead of working on the script, to going to New Orleans, to scout before we started writing because I really wanted to find where it's real. And for me, Mississippi has always been 'smuggling' and there's something dark around rivers and all that, something dark around Chicago and the whole America, the shit that rolls down the river (laughs) must be incredible! And also you know, the kind of crime history of New Orleans seemed to be right for this. And then we started working it as much into that. And for me, remaking a movie, a lot of filmmakers ask "why do you need to remake a movie?" Well we've been remaking Hamlet since 1600—thousand times every year. So for me it's just using a good story to make a movie, and I didn't look at the original. I just thought 'OK we've done that, now let's make another movie with the same core story.' I really wanted to dig into the character as well. I mean… I love doing action, don't take me wrong, but my reason I make films is the character, to dig into characters.
Following up on that and your emphasis on characters, there is in this film a certain kind of a moral ambiguity. I wonder if you could comment on your thoughts about presenting a film where the characters are perhaps of necessity, as cruel as they are. They are not socially conscious. They get away with murder and robbery in the end, and this delivers some sort of odd message of success to audiences. Could you comment on your choices on that?
KORMÁKUR: Yeah but I don't go about as a preacher either. My aims are not necessarily to educate people or tell them what's morally right or wrong. I don't agree that anyone gets away with murder, because I don't remember either Kate or Mark killing anyone in the movie. But they're put into situations, in which [Mark] doesn't have any choices. But he's put into situations where it's either the family or doing something morally ambiguous but trying to navigate through it. The worst thing he does is he steals a painting, right? (Laughs). And beats up a few baddies. But he doesn't kill anyone. But he's involved in criminal activities and he's not getting his way through it. One of the things that I really like about this story is that there are two characters—one is Ben Foster's and one is Mark. They are similar except in a difficult situation, Mark does what is right and Ben does what is wrong. And there's extreme pressure. Therefore, I would say the movie does take a moral stand even though he does things that are illegal, he does them for the right reasons. He does them to save his family. But he doesn't go about, you know, killing anyone and harming anyone as he's doing that. I am a father myself of five children, and it's very important to me, and I don't really want to go about showing people what they shouldn't do—but also I'm a filmmaker and I like to tell stories and partly you can't be a preacher at the same time.
Did you talk to any homeland security people, FBI, anybody of that ilk?
KORMÁKUR: I sure did. I did on the original a lot. Even to the fact—OK, here's moral ambiguity. In Iceland, because in the Icelandic version they're smuggling alcohol, and the reason was because alcohol is so expensive and is sold by the government. And that's kind of a crime that everyone accepts, right? My father was a painter, used to sell a Captain a painting, and he paid him with alcohol that he smuggled (laughs)! I never saw it as bad, it's just old ways of making business. He got his painting and my father had alcohol in his closet for the year to come. So yeah, maybe I'm brought up with moral ambiguity for that reason (laughs). So I know a lot of this world. My mother's brother has worked in this world for a very long time. He's an engineer and when we did the original he worked with us on the details and getting us the stories that he knew. To him, it was very correct. When we came to the states we did work with Homeland Security who worked with us on the film—it was fantastic they did all the scenes with us for free actually. We would never have been able to do these heists, taking down these containers ships on the river of Mississippi without them. And then we called one of the captains on the ships and said 'we'll give you a bottle of whiskey if you just put the lights on on your ship!' We actually had to do it a little bit how we do it at home: we had to steal stuff—not steal! But steal shots and do all kinds of things, because that was the only way really to make this happen, because they were not going to give me a budget of 120 million dollars and have a thousand feet container ship to play with for weeks.
How did you get the ship?
KORMÁKUR: Oh, you don't want to know…Well we used a ship that was much smaller. When I saw it the first time I was almost crying 'I can't believe this is gonna be the ship!' And then we got ships that were on the river and we put up fake fronts of the ship. We just made it look much bigger and complicated than it is. And that's the way you make movies when you don't have money. We had money, but we wanted to make it look much bigger than we had.
Can you talk a little bit about the cinematography; I noticed there was a fair amount of handheld work done. What was the impetus behind that?
KORMÁKUR: There's maybe not as much handheld as you might think. A lot of it's long lenses and we didn't do that much. Barry Ackroyd, who I've been a fan of for a long time [was the cinematographer]. You know he shot The Hurt Locker, United 93, he's now shooting with Paul Greengrass, I think on his new Somali movie [Captain Phillips], and was supposed to shoot the Bin Laden movie, for some reason I don't know what happened with that because he's worked with Kathryn Bigelow. What I really wanted is to make it feel real and urban. I really wanted the film to portray a different part of New Orleans than from which I have seen in movies—the French Quarter, the jazz and all that. I wanted the iconic America: the steal workers, the ships, the rivers, all this big stuff. But I didn't want the movie to look 'slick' at the same time. I wanted it to feel real and gritty but still have it entertaining. So it was that direction I was going down, therefore the choice of Barry I was really happy to get. He was about to shoot another movie called Tripple Frontier for Kathryn Bigelow, which fell apart and I figured out 'Oh, ok…Now he might be free…'
Can you talk a little bit about the casting, because the film hinges on us liking and being sympathetic to Mark Whalberg's character.
KORMÁKUR: First of all, from day one when I got this idea that he would be my perfect choice for the film. He was the only one we went to. Incredible luck that he loved the project and came on. And then what we wanted to do—I'm a part of the independent world in a way—so I wanted to use actors that related to me and I believed in. That's why we went to Ben Foster, Diego Luna, Giovanni Ribisi who is fantastic and who I hadn't seen in a while, and try to create a cast around him [Whalberg] that as well was real, and maybe in some ways like with Giovanni, a little bit surprising. And also we used for some of it, ship guys that were local actors who hadn't played in movies before. I mean I love the casting process, finding the right person and making it all fit together and creating the chemistry. And that's the reason Lukas Haas came on because I thought he had the right and sweet chemistry with Mark. And I didn't want it to be like the funny banana sidekick, just a believable friend. And one thing I really didn't want is for there to be 'the specialist'—you know the one who's good at this, and the one who's good at that, 'the best in the world'. No, just a bunch of guys who just do this. They do it sometimes and sometimes they don't and that's why they run into problems. I think it's more relatable for me at least that they are real people and maybe do something a little dodgy sometime like we all do at some point.


text:
written by
Thomas J. Bing and
Edward F. Redish
Mathematics can serve many functions in physics. It can provide a computational system, reflect a physical idea, conveniently encode a rule, and so forth. A physics student thus has many different options for using mathematics in his physics problem solving. We present a short example from the problem solving work of upper level physics students and use it to illustrate the epistemic framing process: "framing" because these students are focusing on a subset of their total math knowledge, "epistemic" because their choice of subset relates to what they see (at that particular time) as the nature of the math knowledge in play. We illustrate how looking for students' warrants, the often unspoken reasons they think their evidence supports their mathematical claims, serves as a window to their epistemic framing. These warrants provide a powerful, concise piece of evidence of these students' epistemic framing.
Published October 20, 2008
Last Modified May 21, 2009
This file is included in the full-text index.
This file has previous versions.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Kicking Horse - Save on your ski tickets with Powski
Select a mountain:
Authorized reseller:
Powski offers electronic tickets. You will receive them instantly and will have to submit them at your arrival. Buying only takes a few minutes and allows you to save up to 50 % on your lift tickets. Click here for more information.
No tickets available at the moment.
Mountain Description
Kicking Horse
Many years ago, magic assembled a sport of purity, deep in the heart of the Rocky, Purcell and Selkirk Mountains. In the winter, the snow was found to be drier and deeper than anywhere else. History records this as a place discovered by those bent on adventure and seeking storied treasures. We have incredible verticals, deep 'champagne' powder and a truly spectacular and unique terrain mix.
1500 Kicking Horse Trail, Golden, BC V0A 1H0
Description of products and services
PowSki allows you to purchase tickets exchangeable in our affiliated ski resorts for the 2019-2020 season.
Those tickets can be used on the day of your choice depending on the type of tickets and schedule you chose.
* Some resorts require special conditions. Make sure to read the specific "notes" in the ticket office.
The season runs from July 1st to June 30th of the following year, totaling 12 months.
Tickets delivery
When your transaction is completed, you can immediately print your tickets sent through your email address. Then you only need to exchange them at the ski resort.
Annual fees
A $20.00 annual fee payable only once per season allows Powski.com to offer you the lowest prices on chairlift tickets. Your subscription is linked to your email.
Frequently asked questions
A: The process is very simple and it takes only a few minutes: you have to select the desired resort and type of tickets, complete the purchase and you will get your tickets instantly. You can either print your tickets immediately or do it at the time of your choice from the email sent to you. This email contains a link that allows you to access your tickets at any time. You can also choose to have them mailed, a postal fee will be applied.
A: Some resorts only accept paper tickets so it is best to have a hard copy.
A: Absolutely, you can purchase as many tickets as needed for your loved ones.
A: The process is immediate. When PowSki obtains payment authorization, it sends a link of your purchased tickets to your email address. Then you only need to print the tickets. If tickets are mailed, please allow a maximum of 5 business days to receive them.
For any other questions, please contact us.
1 (888) 760-8996


text:
Why choose Sage?
We believe in giving students access to education in a way that is empowering and inspirational.
Our programs include academic tutoring, introduction to computer programming, ACT prep classes, and so much more. Our programs are designed to challenge students to think critically and read a deeper level of understanding.
We offer both one-on-one instruction that provides students one-on-one attention as well as small group instruction that provides an environment for peer-centered engagement. All of our programs can be customised to suit your student's academic or scheduling needs. We also offer online support to students all over the country.
News in 2017: Sage Tutoring is now part of the ClubZ! In-Home and Online Tutoring Service. Check out the Vail Daily article.
Sign up today and receive a free introductory tutoring session
Providing tutoring to children in Breckenridge, Silverthorne, Dillon, Frisco, Vail, Avon, Edwards and all of Summit County, CO and Eagle County, CO.


text:
Find a comfortable and cool pair of men's sunglasses for everyday wear, that'll offer sun protection and style. Whether it's for work or weekends, we've got you covered!
We've got a huge selection of sunglasses for men to suit every guy's style. Choose from various shapes and sizes in frames, with classic or reflective lenses. We've got basic colours including black and brown, or silver aviator styles that are ideal for beach days.
A staple pair of men's sunglasses is essential for every guy! Don't step outside without your favourite pair of sunnies.
Check out our range of styles from top brands including Oakley, Dragon, Arnette, and more!
All references of an asterisk (*) refer to the application of Terms & Conditions to marked content
Sign up to receive the latest news & offers from City Beach and get a discount on your first order*
Interested In is required
Please enter a valid email address.
Request Information


text:
Buttery Cornbread
Bon Appétit November 2006
reviews (63)
90%Go to reviews
make it again
The bread is terrific on its own, too.
Add to collection
Add to menu
- Yield
- Makes 1 loaf
- 1 1/3 cups coarse stone-ground yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
- 9 tablespoons (1 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk, beaten to blend
- Butter 9x5x3-inch metal loaf pan. Mix cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and coarse salt in large bowl. Add buttermilk, melted butter, and beaten eggs. Stir with wooden spoon until well blended. Let mixture stand 30 minutes to absorb liquid. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375°F.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake bread until browned around edges and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let bread rest in pan 5 minutes. Turn bread out onto rack and cool completely. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Wrap in foil and store at room temperature.


text:
Former Olympic soccer stars hosting camp in Bentonville
Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Hoch have five Olympic gold medals, five World Cup titles and 12 NCAA championships between the three of them.
Next month the trio will host Team First Soccer Academy in Bentonville at Memorial Soccer Park, home of Arkansas Select.
"I am most appreciative that Mia, Kristine, Tish, and their coaching staff chose to come to NWA for their all girls camp this June. Team First Soccer Academy holds a very limited number of camps across the US during the year. Having such high profile soccer legends and role models directly interacting with the young campers is not only great for raising the level of awareness for this beautiful game in NWA, But for our region as well," said Donovan Willis with Arkansas Select.
The girls only soccer camp is dedicated to providing girls and young women an opportunity to develop as individual players within a disciplined and unselfish team environment.
"We all see the game in such different ways, but there's this underlying belief that team always came first," said Mia Hamm in an exclusive interview with 40/29 news.
For more information about the camp, visit their website.


text:
When constructing high quality exhibition stands there are 3 essential factors that play a decisive role:
SafetyIt is of prime importance that the fabrication as well as the rigging of exhibition stands is executed with high diligence in order to ensure the safety of visitors and exhibitors. All Naxpro-Truss Trusses are systematically calculated and manufactured under the highest security relevant guidelines. Additionally all popular Naxpro-Truss-Systems fulfil the high safety technical requirements of TÜV-Nord and offer therefore the maximum amount of tested safety.MobilityAluminium Trusses in contrast to other materials have the positive feature of being very light proportional to their load capacity. Therefore they can be transported economical as well as effort-saving and consequently offer a distinct logistic advantage. The simple handling and the modern cone-connection-system of the single components make the rigging and disassembling easy and guarantee unbeatable cost efficiency.AttractivenessModern exhibition stands made from Naxpro-Truss-Systems are always an optical highlight. The modules are combinable in multiple ways and thus enable a vast number of individual design possibilities. As a linear booth, corner booth, peninsula booth or as island booth the appealing designs of the Naxpro-Truss exhibition stands will draw the attention to the products and exhibitor.The FD 44 Naxpro-Truss Exhibition Stand consists of the following components:12 x Naxpro-Truss FD 44 Straight 400 cm16 x Naxpro-Truss FD 44 Straight 200 cm16 x Naxpro-Truss FD 44 Boxcorner incl. 8 connectors80 x Naxpro-Truss Halfconnector for box corner M124 x FD 44 Base Plate(Decoration, lining, lighting, furniture etc.is not included. We gladly offer these components seperately.) Technical data Trusses FD 44:
Data sheet


text:
The gist: London Lane remembers the future and forgets the past. Every morning, she wakes up with zero recollection of what happened the day before. She basically only has her visions of what's yet to come—and the notes she jots down each night before falling asleep—to guide her through a perpetually confusing world. As if being 16 and navigating the chaos that is high school weren't challenging enough, London has to deal with her daily amnesia and some very troubling premonitions. Oh, and she's got a boyfriend who she has to get to know from scratch every time she sees him. No big deal.
Our favorite part: There's no way the ending won't surprise you. All the twists in this crazy-creative narrative are totally unexpected, even for the most savvy (or even psychic) reader. And every time London sees her boyfriend, she discovers how hot he is as if she's never seen him before. Brace yourself for long, lingering paragraphs about "sparkling blue eyes" that "belong in either Hollywood or Heaven." Sigh.
You'll love it if... You're addicted to the mystery of Pretty Little Liars and you loved the toughness of Katniss from The Hunger Games. Also helpful: if you didn't roll your eyes every time Bella found herself speechless at Edward's physical perfection.
Looking for your perfect summer beach read? Take this quiz!


text:
Personally...I think they go to war because they get bored. That's why I go to war whenever I play Civilization 2...and look at me. I have conquered the Souix, Japanese, 90% of the Persians, 90% of the Vikings, part of the Aztecs, and 50% of the English. My navy consist of 17 battleships, a cruiser, and about 3 submerines. I have 2 aircraft carriers with full of fighters and bombers. And I have an ample amount of transports to carry around my armor, cavalry, marines, paratroopers, etc.
Its all because I get bored with peace in that game. I think it is the same reason why people go to war in real life.
President: "What to we have to do today?"
Secretary: "Well, the budget needs a little work...The senate wants a bill passed...and some people are protesting the building of that new road..."
President: *SIGH* "Hey...Lets go to war! "
See?!? Thats how it is...


text:
There are three things that annoy me about March Madness:
•It draws people's attention away from the praiseworthy things I'm doing.
•I know that up until the NCAA basketball tournament's championship game April 2, co-workers will ask me "Hey, how's your bracket?" no fewer than 10,235,172 times.
•Every media outlet ever created will write about, talk about or yell about how employees distracted by March Madness cost companies $87 bazillion in productivity.
First, let me state for the record that I don't have a bracket. I don't follow college basketball, and I don't care who makes it to the Fabulous Fifteen or the Exceptional Eleven or whatever it's called.
That does not make me a bad person. (At least that's what my mom said.)
Second, I'm done with idle speculation about how March Madness affects the workplace. Depending on who you talk to, it costs companies a ton of money because everyone's checking scores all day or it's "a really great opportunity" to build company morale.
The college basketball tournament has been around for a while, and it hasn't upended our economy or brought manufacturing to a screeching halt. It also hasn't proved to be an ideal way to unify a workforce, largely because there are people like me who think Gonzaga is some form of intestinal disease.
So maybe it's time for workplaces to become neutral on the subject of the big college hoops tournament.
In that spirit, here are two pragmatic March Madness tips:
•If you're dying to engage in a bracket-related conversation, first politely ask your co-worker whether she or he has filled one out. And if that person hasn't, don't respond by saying, "WHAT?!?! How can you not be into March Madness, it's THE BEST!!" That might prompt your co-worker to tell you about how he or she prefers writing "Desperate Housewives" fan fiction. And trust me, you don't want to go there.
•If you're a boss or manager, don't be a buzzkill about people paying attention to the tournament. It's going to happen. Limiting Internet access or banning iPads and cellphones is just going to create resentment. Show your workers that you trust them. And if someone is slacking too much, it will be apparent and you can talk directly to the individual.
Follow these simple tips, and I guarantee you'll turn March Madness into March Gladness. (I didn't just write that, did I?)
Now on to an interesting reader question:
Q: For many years, employees at my company were allowed to accumulate paid sick hours and carry them over each year. About five years ago, the company stopped letting us accumulate sick days but we were allowed to keep any we had "banked." We have been told that if we leave the company, we will lose the accumulated hours and not be paid for them. Is that legal?
A: It depends on where you live. In most states, employers don't have to pay employees for banked sick time when they leave the company, but some states do require varying degrees of compensation.
I spoke with Ron Chapman, an attorney and board member at the national labor and employment law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart. "It's entirely a function of state law, and it will differ from state to state, which makes it very complicated for multistate employers to have a consistent policy," he said. As an example, he offered Texas, where accrued sick or vacation time is owed to the employee upon separation only if it's in writing.
This has become a vexing issue, particularly since the recession began. On the one hand, Chapman said, a company that has a "use-it-or-lose-it" policy is "basically going to encourage mass vacation or sick-day use before someone comes in and says they're leaving."
On the flip side, companies that allow workers to bank sick time for years can wind up paying out huge sums, a problem some state governments have been addressing. The New Jersey Legislature, for example, is considering proposals that would end or cap large end-of-career sick time payouts to government employees.
"A lot of companies, even if they have the right to create a straight-up use-it-or-lose-it policy, they'll reach a middle ground and say, 'We'll give you two weeks or something like that,'" Chapman said. "Some will only pay it out if you provide two weeks' notice of separation, so there's kind of an incentive to not just walk out."
Chapman said the best way to figure out how your state handles this issue is to check the website of the state labor department — or whatever agency oversees wage and unemployment claims — and look at the Frequently Asked Questions.
"Usually this is one of the primary questions listed because it comes up a lot," he said.
It's worth noting that Chapman did not ask me anything about NCAA brackets. So the man is OK in my book.
TALK TO REX: Ask workplace questions — anonymously or by name — and share stories with Rex Huppke at firstname.lastname@example.com, like Rex on Facebook at facebook.com/rexworkshere and find more at chicagotribune.com/ijustworkhere.


text:
Create an Account - Increase your productivity, customize your experience, and engage in information you care about.
All citizens have the right to have their dispute heard and decided by a judge or an attorney magistrate. A decision by a judge may not be appealed. A decision by an attorney magistrate may be appealed to a judge within 7 days after the trial.
The Small Claims Division can enter money judgments only. This court has no authority to force anyone to do something, or to stop them from doing something. A money judgment means the court decides that one of the parties owes a certain amount of money to the other party, but it is not the court's responsibility to collect the judgment. In some cases, it may be very difficult or impossible to collect a money judgment.
The party who owes the money may be unemployed or bankrupt; may have gone out of business or left town; or may not earn enough wages for garnishment. Income such as unemployment compensation, public assistance benefits, or social security cannot be garnisheed. If the defendant is "uncollectible", it may be a waste of time and money to obtain a Small Claims judgment.


text:
Rick reviewed my fourth book The Practice of Network Security Monitoring in 2014 and someone nominated it for consideration in 2016. I was unaware earlier this year that my book was part of a 32-title "March Madness" style competition. My book won the five rounds, resulting in its conclusion in the 2017 inductee list! Thank you to all those that voted for my book.
|Ben Rothke awarded me the Canon trophy.
In my acceptance speech I explained how I wrote the book because I had not yet dedicated a book to my youngest daughter, since she was born after my third book was published.
A teaching moment at Black Hat Abu Dhabi in December 2012 inspired me to write the book. While teaching network security monitoring, one of the students asked "but where do I install the .exe on the server?"
I realized this student had no idea of physical access to a wire, or using a system to collect and store network traffic, or any of the other fundamental concepts inherent to NSM. He thought NSM was another magical software package to install on his domain controller.
|Four foreign language editions.
While my book has not (yet?) been translated into Arabic, there are two Chinese language editions, a Korean edition, and a Polish edition! I also know of several SOCs who provide a copy of the book to all incoming analysts. The book is also a text in several college courses.
I believe the book remains relevant for anyone who wants to learn the NSM methodology to detect and respond to intrusions. While network traffic is the example data source used in the book, the NSM methodology is data source agnostic.
In 2002 Bamm Visscher and I defined NSM as "the collection, analysis, and escalation of indications and warnings to detect and respond to intrusions." This definition makes no reference to network traffic.
It is the collection-analysis-escalation framework that matters. You could perform NSM using log files, or host-centric data, or whatever else you use for indications and warning.
I have no plans for another cybersecurity book. I am currently editing a book about combat mindset written by the head instructor of my Krav Maga style and his colleague.
|Thanks for asking for an autograph!
Palo Alto hosted a book signing and offered free books for attendees. I got a chance to speak with Steven Levy, whose book Hackers was also inducted. I sat next to him during the book signing, as shown in the picture at right.
Thank you to Palo Alto Networks, Rick Howard, Ben Rothke, and my family for making inclusion in the Cybersecurity Canon possible. The awards dinner was a top-notch event. Mrs B and I enjoyed meeting a variety of people, including students in local cybersecurity degree programs.
I closed my acceptance speech with the following from the end of the Old Testament, at the very end of 2nd Maccabees. It captures my goal when writing books:
"So I too will here end my story. If it is well told and to the point, that is what I myself desired; if it is poorly done and mediocre, that was the best I could do."
If you'd like a copy of The Practice of Network Security Monitoring the best deal is to buy print and electronic editions from the publisher's Web site. Use code NSM101 to save 30%. I like having the print version for easy review, and I carry the digital copy on my tablet and phone.
Thank you to everyone who voted and who also bought a copy of my book!
Update: I forgot to thank Doug Burks, who created Security Onion, the software used to demonstrate NSM in the book. Doug also contributed the appendix explaining certain SO commands. Thank you Doug! Also thank you to Bill Pollack and his team at No Starch Press, who edited and published the book!


text:
Because, ya, know, maybe there is someone out there who's never seen one of these, and needs a tip about what it's for.
But then WTF are they doing buying home electronics?
A Blog detailing the insanity of my medical practice and the stupidity of everyday life.
I don't think the label is there to let people know what it is, but rather to know which cord belongs to which device!
Behind the desks of many techies (and non-techies) is a complete and total wiring mess.
I have worked all levels of technical support. I work for a high tech company. I also know with out a doubt that those stickers are there for a reason. 99% of the time customers do not pause for a second and try to reason out what they are doing.
I am no longer directly in support. Thankfully!
And all this time I thought they were just a Power Station/Air Supply cover band.
Kind of like the DO NOT EAT all over the silica gel packets in w/ the computer. Oooo they sent a snack too.
Maybe it's an artisinal plug
Heck, every time you get on an airplane they show you how to buckle a seatbelt.
Should people who can't figure that out without having it demonstrated be allowed to fly?
(Though in this case, anonymous is probably right. The tag is more likely to be a marker for which cord is which in the usual mess behind the desk.)
a.generic doc, QANTAS rather drolly starts its safety announcement "We know you know how to buckle a seatbelt..." and then proceeds to tell you, and demonstrate to you, how to do it anyway.
At least us non us people would know which end to plug in ?! Btw QANTAS has John Travolta teling us how to belt up! Gotta love that!
New JCAHO requirement.
One may safely assume that the flip side of the tag reads "Caution, Do Not Use As Dental Floss".
wv: disca, female form of disco, still sucks.
We in the UK get " May contain electrical parts " .
Ohhhh! THAT'S what that's for...
Technically the power comes from the wall, not the adapter..
But I thought it was wireless!?!
No, John Travolta does not tell QANTAS passengers how to belt up. He just says what a great airline it is. QANTAS crews hate him anyway. Seriously, you'd think they could find an Australian to do their ads.
Anon 5:20, there aren't any Aussie actors left. They're all in the US portraying Americans in movies or on the TV peddling Subarus and Steaks.
Well I didn't say an Australian actor. Any Australian would do. Travolta just grates. I don't care that he does have a pilot's licence.
Little Calf Creamery. Delicious homemade ice cream and food in Thousand Oaks!


text:
BERLIN, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Whistle-blower Edward Snowden is willing to travel to Germany to testify about U.S. spying on the country, a German lawmaker said Friday.
Hans-Christian Stroebele, a member of Parliament representing the Greens, released a letter from Snowden, a former contractor for the U.S. National Security Agency who now has temporary asylum in Russia, the Russian broadcaster RT reported. Stroebele said Germany would have to offer Snowden refuge because his arrangement with Russia would expire if he leaves the country.
Stroebele, a lawyer and longtime civil liberties activist, said he met with Snowden in Moscow, where he received the letter addressed to Prime Minister Angela Merkel, the British newspaper The Guardian reported. One of the revelations from Snowden's leaking is that the NSA hacked Merkel's cellphone.
Snowden, who faces criminal charges in the United States, said in his letter he would prefer to testify before the U.S. Congress, RT said.
"Though the outcome of my efforts has been demonstrably positive, my government continues to treat dissent as defection, and seeks to criminalize political speech with felony charges that provide no defense. However, speaking the truth is not a crime," Snowden said.
Snowden sought asylum in Germany earlier and was advised he could only apply once he was in the country.


text:
"Say the Rosary every day…
Pray, pray a lot and offer sacrifices for sinners…
I'm Our Lady of the Rosary.
Only I will be able to help you.
…In the end My Immaculate Heart will triumph."
Our Lady at Fatima
The Holy Rosary is considered a perfect prayer because within it lies the awesome story of our salvation. With the Rosary, in fact, we meditate the mysteries of joy, of sorrow and the glory of Jesus and Mary. It's a simple prayer, humble so much like Mary. It's a prayer we can all say together with Her, the Mother of God. With the Hail Mary, we invite Her to pray for us. Our Lady always grants our request. She joins Her prayer to ours. Therefore it becomes even more useful because what Mary asks She always receives, Jesus can never say no to whatever His Mother asks for. In every apparition, the heavenly Mother has invited us to say the Holy Rosary as a powerful weapon against evil, to bring us to true peace. With your prayer made together with Your heavenly Mother, you can obtain the great gift of bringing about a change of hearts and conversion. Each day, through prayer you can drive away from yourselves and from your homeland many dangers and many evils. The word Rosary means "Crown of Roses". Our Lady has revealed to several people that each time they say a Hail Mary they are giving her a beautiful rose and that each complete Rosary makes her a crown of roses. The rose is the queen of flowers, and so the Rosary is the rose of all devotions and it is, therefore, the most important one.
Arise, cry out in the night,
as the watches of the night begin;
pour out your heart like water
in the presence of the Lord.
(Lamentations 2:19)
A Trinitarian night of miracles, an amazing spiritual experience.
Every First Friday, the whole of Shalom family gather together to pray for the world. On the still silence of the night, they offer before the Blessed Sacrament all the prayer intentions coming through the post, phone, e-mail, and fax. Simultaneously, special prayer service for the public is conducted within the office of Shalom.
It is a day of blessings. The Lord touches many who are lost in despair. The sick are healed! Sinners are liberated! Youth groping in darkness find a new light! Peace returns to shattered families!
Shalom Night Vigil is a spiritually nourishing programme which includes Rosary, Praise, and Worship, Sharing of the Word, Narration of Testimonies, Adoration and Holy Mass which comes on all first Fridays. Many a soul finds solace in mind and heart as well as realizes the love of our heavenly Father participating in it. The Lord has enormously blessed many people through this enriching programme and it is attested by the thousands of letters and phone calls receiving in Shalom.
You might begin that night with cries of despair, but surely you cannot help but end it with tears of joy rolling down your cheeks because your Lord will definitely visit you that night.
Watch it on Shalom TV every First Friday starting at 8.00 p.m. IST.


text:
Please enter your details and preferred date of test drive and we'll coordinate with the dealer on your behalf. The dealer will contact you in due course to finalize your appointment.
By clicking "Submit", I agree that Autodeal.com.ph and its Certified Dealers may communicate with me via email, text, or phone call. For more information on how we handle personal information, please read our
privacy policy.


text:
[Large Photo & Image] Image.3 for IPC-15PF 15-inch fanless industrial panel pc with touch screen
Hot link
How can we help?
Anxin works with business partners to co-create business ecosystems that accelerate the intelligence of network security system, industrial 4.0 and IOT.
Head Office
08D Floor 10, Caoxi North road NO 41, XuJiaHui, Shanghai, China


text:
Judging by how the Wii discs are (edge to center is the only thing Nintendo did other than firmware updates if I am not mistaken)
I get the feeling Nintendo took the cheap route and didn't really encrypt DS cards.
3ds is a different matter, I get the feeling that after seeing wiis get hacked without mod chips or unlicensed accessories being plugged into the system made them step their game up. Also, while it is true new DS games are still being released and sold, the release of the 3ds has marked it's decline. I get the feeling the massive first year price cut of the 3ds is going to help speed things up. That's why I said "almost" dead. It's not dead yet, but it's looking like it's not going to last much longer. Of course, that's just my guess. Anyway, I am willing to wait a little while for a DS adapter while the N64/Game Boy Adapter satisfies me and my cousins with more classics once I manage to get one from Stone Age Gamer, assuming that they get some this time.
Out of curiosity, you said on Twiter that in order to get MBC3 and MBC5 working you will need to cut and re-route a trace. Does this mean that it's either/or, where by doing so you can dump the Pokemon games, but not other games? And if not, will the newest batch of adapters be able to dump these games also?
The owner of Consoling Myself has posted a post on Matthias_H's PCB for the Master System/Game Gear adaptor that he designed: http://consolingmyself.co.uk/post/15862512292/retrode-sms-and-gg-adapter-part-2
Quote from: Muzer on 15/Jan/2012 01:24:32 PMThe owner of Consoling Myself has posted a post on Matthias_H's PCB for the Master System/Game Gear adaptor that he designed: http://consolingmyself.co.uk/post/15862512292/retrode-sms-and-gg-adapter-part-2I have indeed! Just to let you know, I am now registered on the forum for all the lovely Retrode chat.


text:
The rise and rise of the Samsung Galaxy S3 has continued with latest sales figures topping 30 million.
The Android kingpin, which only arrived in May, reached the landmark figure this week, according to an announcement on Samsung Poland's Twitter page.
At last count, less than two months ago, the 4.8-inch Super AMOLED HD device had racked up 20 million sales around the world.
So with around 10m further shipments in the last two months alone, momentum continues to be high for the flagship Galaxy S3.
Coolest kid in school
Just yesterday came news that the Galaxy S3 had outsold the iPhone 5 to remain the UK's most popular handset for the sixth consecutive month.
The Galaxy S3 had defeated the iPhone 5 in September also, but October's figures carry a little more weight as it was the new Apple smartphone's first full month on sale.
With the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 already shipping over 3 million units worldwide after just a few weeks on sale, it looks like a very bright Christmas for the Koreans.
Via The Verge, Trusted Reviews


text:
PROS: The fastest MFP in our roundup. Excellent user interface.CONS: Difficult setup process, expensive.
Features: AEase of use: A+Color accuracy: AText quality: A
30-page black-and-white text print time: 1:0130-page color print time: 1:01
WHEN WE SAW the enormous, refrigerator-sized box from Lexmark International on our loading dock (the delivery guy wouldn't bring it up to the lab for us — he said it was too heavy), we thought the company might be trying to compensate for its poor showing in last year's roundup.
The GCN Lab tested tests eight multifunction printers suitable for small, midsize and, in at least one case, even large workgroups.
Lead story: Colorful languageHP Color LaserJet CM3530 Oki Data C5550n MFPHP Color LaserJet CM2320 Brother MFC-9450CDNLexmark X782ePanasonic KX-MC6040The ink optionXerox Phaser 6180MFP/N
The X782e ships in seven boxes, all strapped down inside a huge outer shell. Even with instructions, putting this monster together was a daunting task. If we had not set up hundreds of MFPs over the years, we might have been a little lost. Even so, it took the better part of a day to get the X782e ready to test.
It was extremely speedy once we got everything configured. It blew through our 30-page text document in 1 minute, 1 second and our 30-page graphical document in 1 minute, 10 seconds. Those were the fastest times in the review and are likely attributable to the 800 MHz processor and 768M of memory.
Its user interface was the only one to show what page of a document was printing and not just the name of the file. It's helpful to know if the printer is working on Page 10 of 20 or Page 10 of 3,000 if you plan to wait for it to finish before making copies or using another function of the shared MFP.
The user interface is similar to the look of vehicles' Global Positioning System units. It is easy to use, with a touch screen that lets you choose whether to copy, fax, print or scan.
It's also packed with features you would expect to find on a high-end MFP. It has a rated 150,000-page monthly duty cycle. And the X872e comes with enough paper trays to hold 1,600 sheets of paper.
It might be a pain to put together, but once you have assembled your tower, it will be a long time before you get the low-paper warning.
The Lexmark X782e is the only MFP in the review that could easily drop into a large workgroup setting and satisfy everyone. It's speedy, has a huge capacity and is simple to use. Despite the high price, it earns a Reviewer's Choice designation because for what you pay, you get a lot.
Lexmark International, 800-539-6275, www.lexmark.com
About the Author
John Breeden II is a freelance technology writer for GCN.
E-Mail this page
Printable Format
New collaboration technologies ramped up in the wake of the pandemic have introduced some new challenges.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology's Phish Scale quantifies characteristics of phishing emails that are likely to trick users.
Advanced Search
Sign up for our newsletter.
I agree to this site's Privacy Policy.


text:
These Beatles lyrics have been swimming in my brain all day because I WANT A REVOLUTION in education. I am so sick of it all. I want destruction of the system as it now stands. I want to start over, giving kids an education that means something, an education that will help them become outstanding citizens and be able to provide for themselves and their families.
You say you want a revolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
You tell me that it's evolution
Well, you know
We all want to change the world
But when you talk about destructionThis destruction, I want a part of. I want to do away with forcing kids to take meaningless classes. If a kid tells me one more time that line segments in a circle add up to 180 degrees, I am going to jump out the window. If I look at another IEP goal that says Jenny will graduate and go to college, I will hang myself. If I hear one more teacher griping about having to maintain the same standards that existed when they were in high school ten years ago, I might just slug them. If just once more I am forced to sit through a meeting talking about Johnny's goal of having an organized notebook, well, I don't know what I will do. It seems to me that if Johnny hasn't learned this by now he might never be able to learn this.
Don't you know that you can count me out
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
You say you got a real solution
Well, you know
We'd all love to see the plan
I want a plan that does not involve boot camps, credit recovery and other crap. No more of this dribble just to get these kids out.
You ask me for a contribution
Well, you know
We're doing what we can
We are not doing what we can. We are doing what is easy. It is much easier to go along with the status quo than to fight it. No one wants a real plan because a real plan costs money. A real plan might be politically incorrect. Mayor Money Bags and his bunch of stooges and President Change think teachers are the problem. Yes, there are bad teachers, but not all. Money is not going to make me or anyone else better at what we do.
But when you want money
for people with minds that hate
Maybe the minds don't hate, but they certainly don't love. The current education system is set up to doom future generations to failure. The elitist running the system want it that way. They want lots of ignorant people around to do their bidding. The Mark Weprin's of the world are looking to extend mayoral control of the city's schools are taking our tax money and pissing it away. They are allowing people like Evil Moskowitz to keep opening her charter schools, schools running at the expense of all others. Another elitist, Merryl Tisch, a woman who has absolutely no public school experience was just chosen chancellor of education for NYS. She might not hate, but her ignorance of public school life is more than enough to do us in.
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
Don't you know it's gonna be all right
all right, all right
Brother, it is not going to be all right. We need a revolution and we need it now!


text:
Tag Archives: Specialists
Some Great News! For Our WordPress Collaborative Internet Team: Jim Humble And The Miracle Mineral Supplement Folks Have Become Aware Of Our Plight And Picked Up A Number Of Our Key WordPress Blogs Up On One Of Their Websites (1-14-2013)
Some Great News! For Our WordPress Collaborative Internet Team: Jim Humble And The Miracle Mineral Supplement Folks Have Become Aware Of Our Plight And Picked Up A Number Of Our Key WordPress Blogs Up On One Of Their Websites (1-14-2013)
***Important Notes: Some More Copy than what is below is coming as soon as I can get to it. This Particular Key WordPress Blog is going to be written on an ongoing basis over the next four or five days or so.
I want to do Jim Humble and the Miracle Mineral Supplement Folks **Justice** with this Key WordPress Blog I am going to write. He and His Organization Are An Ally Of Critical Importance Against Our Common Enemy Of Big Pharma.
See the Bottom of http://www.miraclemineralsupplement.co/ for a List Of Some Key Blogs Of Our WordPress Collaborative Internet Team's on an MMS (Miracle Mineral Supplement) Website.
I am Deeply Grateful to Jim Humble and the MMS folks associated with the above website for helping to make other persons aware of our WordPress Team's Dire Plight.
Jim Humble, his MMS Discovery (which rids the body of bad biology in a broad spectrum fashion), and his MMS Organization are known Worldwide, and Justifiably So.
The Power of Big Pharma, the Mafia, and Our Federal Government are all coming unglued as I write this!!!
Too Many People Have Become Aware,
Many More Will Inevitably Follow (become aware),
TOO MANY People
Are Collectively Standing Up.
Neither the Mafia
Or Our Federal Government
Can Intimidate
Or Kill Us All.
It Has Become Time For the Mafia To
Stop Trying To
Repeatedly Kill My Two Girls!
If They Continue
To Try To Kill Them
And Succeed,
The Worldwide Backlash
Against the Mafia,
After Worldwide Revolution Succeeds,
Revolution that Begins Right Here,
In the United States of America,
Will Crush Them With Vengence Attached!!!
Whether I Remain Alive,
Or I Am Dead Soon (from their Sicilian Hands),
I Can Practically Guarantee This!
Too Many People Have Become Aware
Of Mafia Influence Over Big Pharma,
Mafia Influence Over America's Medical System,
Mafia Influence Over Main Stream Media,
Mafia Influence Over the Passage Of Law,
And Mafia Influence Over Our Federal and State Governments.
It is Time for the Mafia to play ball With Me in regard to developing a Win-Win Situation for itself and America at the same time. Killing my WordPress Collaborative Internet Team Members and I will hurt you far more than it will help you.
Allen Darman and His Heroic WordPress Collaborative Internet Team
Puff Puff Pass!
420SmokeMasterAllenD! And The Same!
Notable Quotes
Words, once they are printed, have a life of their own.Carol Burnett
Words are powerful things, especially when they are true. Words can easily topple governments, and they can easily get every member of the Mafia hunted down and either jailed or killed from one corner of this earth to the other if they don't stop trying to kill My Two Girls! Allen Darman
Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.
Marsha Norman
I dream the Mafia is finally going to come around and work with the new Eight President Round Table Internet Based Government that is set up when our Corrupt Current Federal Government Inevitably Falls to the Truth!!! soon after an Internet Freedom Event called iROCK4FREEDOM OCCURS!!! In The San Francisco Bay Area this Summer! The Sooner the Mafia Sees the Wisdom In All This, the Better For All Concerned. Allen Darman and His Heroic WordPress Collaborative Internet Team
About Me and About Us >Short and Long Version< (1-6-2013)
*Important Prefacing Notes*:
My Primary WordPress Website Since July 2009 Or So has been Nutrientscure Dot WordPress Dot Com.
The Above WordPress Website has over two thousand and two hundred (2,200) WordPress Blogs on it.
As of April 10, 2012, I Am No Longer WordPress Blogging Alone On The Internet.
As I of April 2012, I Am The Leader of A Four Person
Revolutionary WordPress Website Development
Collaborative Internet Team.
Perhaps All I Wish to Say About The Above Mentioned Development at the Moment Is…
Thank God I am not Working Alone!!! with WordPress Any More!
My Revolutionary WordPress Website Development Collaborative Internet Team's Primary WordPress Websites
As of January 15, 2013 will Be Shared between Seven (7) Active WordPress Websites.
Of these Seven, Quite Arguably the Most Important Are:
As of January 15, 2013 My Revolutionary WordPress Website Development Collaborative Internet Team
Will Also Have Five (5) Active Secondary WordPress Websites.
Seven plus Five Equals Twelve! Duh! (I'm Not Good In Math sometimes!)
These Twelve Active WordPress Websites of My Heroic Revolutionary WordPress Collaborative Internet Team
(Seven Primary and Five Secondary) Will All Be Named >>>Here<<>>
A WordPress Blog Section Addressed 2 My Two Lesbian 420submissive WordPress Serf Bears and Cherry Pies Regarding Marriage to MasterMe!
I should note to U2 that "This is the >>Only and Last Time u2 Will Ever See This Way!"
Because *After u2 Agree 2 Marry Me*Things Are Going to Be DIFFERENT! The Other Way Around! U2 Being Real Submissive! ON YOUR KNEES! In Front of ME! ESPECIALLY WHEN I 420smoke u2 UP!!On a More Than Daily Basis!> I Am Gonna Get u2 Real Stoned!!!! Because I LIKE U2 THAT WAY 4 ME!!!
While You Are Slaving Away at WordPress 4 Me!!
Besides u2 R Both Funnier and Sexier 2 Me When u R Quite Well Toasted!!!That's All!
If u2 Obedient Stoney WordPress Slaves say 2Me when I Get Down On My Knees And Say 2 U 2…
Me2U2: Will u2 Cherry Pies Marry Me?
And u2 Say: Yes! Oh!!! Yes! Master!!!
Oh!!! Yes!!! SmokeMasterAllenD!!! I Will Marry U Master If U Make Me! Because I am Always Obedient to U!
Me: Then I Am No Longer *420Single and Looking*… "I Am Almost Taken" as per the Below.
Me2U2: Perhaps We Will Fill In With A Fourth Serf Bear that is Also Female, Lesbian or Bisexual, Submissive, a Big Fan of 420!, A Genius/Or Close, A Team Player That Fits In Big Time with All 3ofus (to Include Sexually in some meaningful way), and Is Professionally Qualified in a Skill we3 Could Really Use To Support My Being One of Eight Internet Presidents.
About SmokeMasterAllenD
I am a sixty year old hippie that still likes his "420 chill time"… lol. I am honest, funny, and full of love. Highly intelligent (my parents genes), but humble before God too. I am a Truth Warrior for both America and the World. I am also an Alternative Medical Discoverer, Author, Blogger, Internet Truth Spreader, Freedom of Speech Activist, Bill of Rights Activist, Truth Soldier Activist, Mental Health Activist, Self Applied Alternative Medicine Activist, Respect Native Peoples Knowledge Activist,Respect Lesbian and Gay Rights Activist, Water Powered Car Activist, High Mileage Carburetor Activist, Free Electricity Activist, Burn No More Fossil Fuel Activist, Use No More Nuclear Energy Activist, Save Mother Earth Activist, Expose the New World Order Agenda Activist, Marijuana Activist, Decriminalize Drugs Activist, Free Form Amino Acid Therapeutic Value Awareness Activist, Save Public Access to Nutritional Supplements Activist, Anti-GMO Foods Activist, Social Change Activist, Revolution Activist, Civil Disobedience Activist, Internet Educator, Internet Government Theorist, Internet Freedom Activist, Internet Woodstock Idea Man, Revolutionary WordPress Collaborative Internet Team Leader, and Hopefully (if I live long enough and get adequate help) Internet Woodstock Promoter *all rolled into one*.None of the above jobs pays me a dime. (I don't mind. My Jobs are heartfelt, interesting, and often a lot of fun!) I work at all of these jobs due to a Strong Sense of Moral Obligation to do so. This Sense of Moral Obligation is NOT blunted by the fact that one (or more) of the above jobs may cost me either (1) my Freedom or (2) my Life. In Regard to My Background Before Being Employed in Regard to the Above: I voluntarily retired from managing Darman Mfg. Company, Inc. in 1994 in order to pursue loftier goals. Some of my initial goals were to find, define, and refine the proper (bio)chemical manner in which to cure depression, ADHD, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and the like. As I achieved one goal after another in the aforementioned regards, these (my) goals have changed over time. Currently my general goal is to try to Change the World For the Better via blogging and creating Educational Video Material directed towards assisting the OWS Movement And The Freedom Revolution Worldwide. All of my Written, Photographic, and Video Work is given away *Freely over the Internet*. I copyright *NONE* of what I film or write, as I have no commercial agenda whatsoever. Perhaps I should mention that for the past three years I have worked "under the gun" in an almost literal sense. I state this due to the fact that since January 2010 there have been multiple attempts to take my life. It's a miracle that I am still alive.
Since April 2012 I am no longer Alone! as far as Blogging on the Internet!
I am the Leader of a Heroic Revolutionary WordPress Website Development Collaborative Internet Team of Four Brave Geniuses!!!
I could not have a Better Team!
Our Primary WordPress Website of http://nutrientscure.wordpress.com/ will lead to Our Revolutionary WordPress Website Development Collaborative Internet Team's Multiple Websites on the Internet.
My Personal Favorite in the Above Regard is IdeasForInternetGovernment.WordPress.com.
However, I also really like the Revolutionary WordPress Website of aCallForRevolution.Wordpress.com,
An Older Revolutionary WordPress Website of aCall4JustifiableRevolution.WordPress.com,
Another Older Revolutionary WordPress Website of July4thRevolution.WordPress.com,
The WordPress Internet Woodstock Website of iWoodstock.WordPress.com,
An Older Interent Woodstock Website of iwoodstock2012.WordPress.com,
The Truth Suppression WordPress Website of SuppressionByAllenD.WordPress.com,
The Energy Invention Suppression WordPress Website of EnergyInventionSuppression.WordPress.com,
The Alternative Medical Discovery Website of WillysBaggie.WordPress.com,
The Romantic WordPress Website of MyCherryPie2000.WordPress.com,
The Adult420XXX Website of We3pickHypomanic420Fun.WordPress.com,
The Hope That Real Social Change! Is Finally Going to Happen! WordPress Website of
The Straight WordPress Management Website of WordPressManagementByAllenD.WordPress.com,
The Stoned WordPress Management Website of iManage420UsingWordPress.WordPress.com,
The Newly Formed WordPress Website Under Construction of RoundtableInternetGovernment.WordPress.com
and I Like Many of Our Collaborative WordPress Internet Team's Other Websites too!
I hope that You enjoy them! as much as I really do!
Allen Darman
Puff Puff Pass!
Notable Quotes
Writing is a struggle against silence. Carlos Fuentes
Writing to me is simply thinking through my fingers. Isaac Asimov
Eighty Five Percent of "Me" is *My Extraordinary Parents Arthur and Marion Darman*. I am only Fifteen Percent of "Me". AllenD
Easy reading is damn hard writing.Nathaniel Hawthorne
Damn hard writing is Easy! when using WordPress Because It Is So Easy To Make Changes later! AllenD
Be obscure clearly. E.B. White
Be Clear obscurely! Puff Puff Pass! AllenD
Every writer I know has trouble writing. Joseph Heller
I'm writing a book. I've got the page numbers done.Steven Wright
I'm writing a book. Thank God I have 2 Lesbian 420sub Angels! 2 do the page numbers 4 Me after I get them Real Stoned! on their knees! in front of me! SmokeMasterAllenD
There is creative reading as well as creative writing.Ralph Waldo Emerson
I Welcome Your Feedback! Please Leave a Reply! AllenD
Google Is Helping U2 Lesbian 420Subs As Best As They Can At The Present Time; It Is Time For U2 To Come To Albany New York ASAP (1-13-2013)
Note: I will be replacing the Link Version of this WordPress Blog on many of My WordPress Collaborative Internet Team's Websites with a Full Copy Version when I am able to do so. Allen Darman
AllenD Sure Hopes That U2 Lesbian 420subs Are Not Getting Poison Gassed Again (A WordPress Blog Undergoing A Major Upgrade On 1-11-2013)
The Only Course of Action To Save Two Lesbian 420sub WordPress Internet Freedom Heroes From Certain Death Quite Soon (1-11-2013)
Posted on January 11, 2013
I, Allen Darman, am Not Under Any Immediate Threat Of Dying At The Hands Of the Powers that Be.
They Are Too Afraid Of Making A Martyr Out Of Me.
Unfortunately, Half of my Four Member WordPress Team IS UNDER IMMEDIATE THREAT OF DYING,
In Part Because Thus Far They Have Made Two Foolish Decisions.
One of these Foolish Decisions Is To Not Ally With Me By Name, As a Heroic Man Named Mark J. of CoveredWebServices.com did.
The Second Foolish Decision My Two Dearly Beloved Lesbian 420sub WordPress Collaborators has made, is That they have yet to Widely Internet Publish their Travel Plans, and Get On An Amtrak Train to Join Up With Me.
The Above Course Of Action Is Quite Literally The Only Chance that They Have Of Surviving Another Month Or Two.
These Two Heroes May Be Dead Next Week.
I Pray that "They Wake Up" and "*Get Real Smart*" Quite Soon.
Allen Darman
Notable Quotes
I try to leave out the parts that people skip.Elmore Leonard
I try to use my logic and deductive skills to figure out the parts that people skip. I have to Deeply Thank my Mother Marion Darman for fostering my logic and deductive skills by the Great Books! she continually fed to me when I was a child and young man. The lessons that she was responsible for teaching me have quite literally saved me from Certain Death at the Hands of the Mafia dozens of times since they first tried to kill me on January 6, 2010. AllenD
Dreams are illustrations from the book your soul is writing about you.Marsha Norman


text:
Tobacco tax: Myth vs. facts
To the editor:
We were disappointed to read the opinions expressed in the July 6 editorial. We would like to provide your readers with accurate information based on fact (references readily available).
The following points address several myths presented by Mr. Peterson:
Myth: The new tobacco tax will help pay for the Vikings Stadium. Fact: The revenue from the tobacco tax will go into the general fund. Some of the money from a one-time tax on cigarette inventory in stores may go to the stadium.
Myth: Raising the tobacco tax is unfair to smokers. Fact: The cost of treating tobacco-related disease far exceeds the amount of tobacco tax collected by smokers. Every man, woman and child in Minnesota pays $554 in excess health care costs due to smoking whether they smoke or not.
Myth: Smokers won't quit even if the price increases. Fact: Research shows that a $1.60 per pack tax increase will help more than 36,600 current Minnesota smokers quit. In our state, we are fortunate that all smokers have access to free cessation services through QUITPLAN. In addition, low-income smokers suffer disproportionately from the health effects of smoking, and are 70 percent more responsive to price increases.
Myth: Tobacco tax revenue isn't reliable. Fact: Every state that has significantly raised its tobacco tax has seen an increase in state revenue and health benefits for residents.
The new tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products is estimated to generate approximately $400 million over the next two years and will save our state more than $1.65 billion in long-term health care costs.
Myth: Raising the tobacco tax will force people over the border. Fact: In most places, the price difference isn't substantial enough to cause people to cross the border to buy cigarettes. Some may cross occasionally, but the number of individuals who do this is statistically very low. Most smokers will continue to buy their cigarettes in Minnesota.
Research has consistently shown that raising the price of tobacco is one of the most effective ways to help smokers quit and prevent kids from starting. Saving Minnesota lives and our kids from a lifetime of addiction is "fair" and a great idea in our book (of facts).
Southwest Community Health Improvement Program (C.H.I.P) members
Paula Bloemendaal
Val Dallenbach
Judy Pitzl
Kris Wegner


text:
Making Word: Ryan Trecartin as Poet
All images: Screen captures from KCorea-INC.K
Is Ryan Trecartin a video artist? A "video-installation" artist? Reviewing "Any Ever," the exhibition now on view at MoMA PS1, Roberta Smith grasped for precedent, naming Paul McCarthy, Matthew Barney and Pipilotti Rist. But, she admitted, the comparisons fell short. To find another artist who engages a plurality of art forms with simultaneous, equal intensity—all while rethinking what art is and how it touches its audience—you'd have to go back to Wagner. Video is an outcome of his process, but watching is not the only or best way to understand it. Trecartin says he starts each work by writing a script. Language—the primal, biological system of symbols—is the model and vehicle for art and commerce and every other manifestation of social activity. And the forms of all the aspects of Trecartin's work—the camerawork, the editing, the music, the makeup, and the costumes, as well as Lizzie Fitch's sets for the videos and "sets" for their viewing in "Any Ever"—are prefigured in the way he works with words.
To study Trecartin's language, I read the script for K-CoreaINC.K (Section A), which is freely available thanks to ubuweb's "Publishing the Unpublishable" series. Like any script, it starts with dramatis personae: Argentinian Korea, Hungary Korea, French Adaptation Korea, and so on. The litany of locales recalls the lyrics of a club hit ("Brazil, Morocco, London to Ibiza": so sings J-Lo in "On the Floor") or the "Paris, Milan, Moscow, Tokyo" you see on the front of designer boutiques. But only remotely. Countries aren't named to evoke the exotic, but because geographic names, unlike human names, are tied to place and awkward in reuse. Slapped together, they don't merge nicely. One plus one is two ones and the ozone emitted by their collision. Combos like these are a favorite device of Trecartin's. So is the willful disregard for parts of speech. A character's "first name" can be a noun or an adjective or one of each. Grammatical difference meets geographical difference as both are jettisoned. No setting is indicated—the list of characters is enough to locate the action in an unanchored imaginary.
Life Feed: Webcams, Art, and People
On Friday, June 24, Rhizome is presenting new projects by Jeremy Bailey and Antoine Catala as part of the New Silent Series. This post elaborates some of the ideas around the event.
The future never comes looking like it used to. Science fiction's universal hallmark of technological advancement was the videophone. While you can buy a device as slick as a Gene Roddenberry prop, most people make video calls with the same thing they do a thousand other things with, using a streamlined version of the computer-camera-modem combo that Jennifer Ringley set up in her dorm room in 1996. Her site JenniCam (now archived) did not stream a live feed of her life. It updated still images— black-and-white, at first— every three minutes. Traffic leapt whenever word spread that Ringley was undressing, or having sex with her boyfriend. But JenniCam was never meant to be an illicit site. As Ringley explained, she was broadcasting everyday life, and in everyday life sex and nudity happen. Her webcam was like a piece of furniture, a mirror that blankly took in the image of the room it faced. It was connected to the line of the telephone, a device that philosopher Avital Ronnell has described as a superhumanizing prosthesis, a machine that empowers the ear and voice to operate across great distances. The webcam's mirror/telephone hybrid— as used by JenniCam and its lifecasting progeny, from Ustream.tv to Chatroulette— is a messy sort of videophone that captures a reflection at its physical location and disperses it to whatever channel that switches the packets.
Rosalind Krauss called video "the aesthetics of narcissism." Her 1976 essay of that name describes Vito Acconci's Centers (1971) as a reflection on art's indexical function: he looks in a television monitor as a mirror and points at himself. One of her other examples was Richard Serra's Boomerang (1974), which locks Nancy Holt in a prison of feedback. She speaks and listens to her own words in a "collapsed present." "[V]ideo's real medium," Krauss writes, "is a psychological situation, the very terms of which are to withdraw attention from an external object— an Other— and invest it in the Self." What do her words mean thirty years later, when video, thanks to webcams, has become part of everyday life as a telecom device? Marisa Olson's remake of Boomerang offers an easy starting point. The webpage juxtaposes a video of Olson listening to and repeating the text of Boomerang with a copy of the old video that she saved on her YouTube account. Serra's tightly constructed frame excludes everything but Holt's face and the audio apparatus. Olson (who did the tasks of both Serra and Holt: the tech set-up and the on-screen performance) lets her webcam show her studio; we can see a doorway, artworks, a bookshelf, the glare of sunlight on a framed print. For Olson, the real "frame" isn't the field of her webcam's lens but the window of the browser, which subsumes both the art-historical past and the webcam's collapsed present in the empty space of default whiteness. She's not only creating a reflection of her own image, but connecting it to an artifact of another place and time by echoing its call.
Seven on Seven: The Live Blog
Live blog of the Seven on Seven conference May 14th.
Big Reality
"From Nethack to play-by-post forums on the WWW," an Ars Technica blogger wrote in 2009, "the first thing that computer geeks do upon inventing a new medium is play Dungeons and Dragons with it." With this half-joking riposte to conventional wisdom that new communications media are appropriated first by pornographers, the blogger introduced a roundup of instructions for adding dice rollers to Google Wave to make it a platform for turn-based role-playing games. Of course, links between computing and RPGs predate networked technology. Some of the earliest computer games were made by programmers who played D&D; and saw the connection between dice and digits. Another parallel might be drawn between the do-it-yourself culture around computing in the 1970s and the amateur storytelling demanded by RPGs. Even while computer use leaves less to the imagination today than it did thirty-five years ago, it still shares more characteristics with RPGs than older forms of entertainment do. The creator(s) of a novel, movie, or drama have combined details into a whole by the time it reaches an audience; those media come with spatial and temporal guidelines for consumption. But just as network connections are constant and pervasive, RPGs are open-ended, played with regularity and long-term commitment. Gaming (like, say, tweeting) doesn't have the same distance between medium and audience as reading or film-going – there is a constant awareness of the self's participation in a bigger system, and a feeling of contribution to it. RPGs, like internet use, move at the speed of life.
I think this affinity is what has prompted many artists to include allusions to RPGs in their works. Whether they adapt the forking structures or the surface details of fantasy and science fiction, whether those references are direct or oblique, references to the culture around RPGs can be shorthand for reality's mediation by immaterial systems. Some examples: Brody Condon's remakes of medieval paintings with game graphics, Eddo Stern's animation of a gaming-forum flame war, Deb Sokolow's choose-your-own-adventure drawings, the arcane protests of the Center for Tactical Magic, Sterling Crispin's scrying devices, and the occult forms behind altar .gifs on dump.fm. These artists a have relationship to fantasy that's distinctly different from ones who make monster portraits and fantastic battle scenes – a genre that's also become more visible in contemporary art the last few years. (That trend, I'd say, comes because popular and critical approval for Peter Saul and Tim Burton has emboldened a younger generation of "outsider artists" who grew up with RPGs.) Indie fantasy art, like the illustrations in novels and gaming manuals, that inspire it, is about virtuosic draftsmanship and imagination. It showcases fine renderings of dragon scales and weaponry. The examples I listed above have rough edges where processes of imagination and play visibly collide with other frames of reference. Often, they achieve this by bringing technology to the foreground.


text:
Top Ten Weirdest Stories of 2012
By Christine Dell'Amore, National Geographic News, 17 December 2012.
By Christine Dell'Amore, National Geographic News, 17 December 2012.
From a genitalia-headed fish to a two-faced cat - it's been a weird and wild year at National Geographic. And for our weird fans, we've rounded up our editor's picks for the ten oddest stories of 2012.
Coming in as tenth weirdest is the housefly-size frog Paedophryne amauensis (below), the world's smallest known vertebrate.
10. World's Smallest Frog Found
At an average of 7.7 millimetres long, the frog is a hair smaller than the previous record holder, the Southeast Asian fish species Paedocypris progenetica, whose females measure about 7.9 millimetres, scientists said in January. Full story>>
9. Slime Has Memory But No Brain
The living slime that may have been the muse for the 1958 science-fiction film The Blob just got creepier: In October, scientists reported that slime mould, a brainless single-celled organism, has a form of memory. Full story>>
8. Two-Faced Cat a Mystery
In August, Venus the two-faced cat became a feline hit: The three-year-old tortoiseshell debuted her own Facebook page, was featured in a YouTube video, and appeared on the Today Show. (Watch National Geographic cat videos.)
One look at this cat and you can understand why: One half is solid black with a green eye, and the other half has typical orange tabby stripes and a blue eye. The coloration may be a genetic mashup that one scientist called "absolute luck." Full story>>
7. White Killer Whale Spotted
An white adult killer whale spotted off Russia in April may be the only one in the world.
Nicknamed Iceberg, the 22-foot-long (7-meter-long) whale is probably not a true albino, since he has colour on his saddle - the area behind his dorsal fin, scientists say. (See pictures of albino animals.) The male appeared healthy and accepted by his pod, suggesting his odd coloration doesn't affect him. Full story>>
6. World's Leggiest Animal Found
The leggiest creature on Earth lives in California, but it's not a movie star or a model - it's a 3-centimetre-long (1.2-inch) millipede with 750 legs, scientists said in November.
First seen by government scientists in 1928, Illacme plenipes - "the acme of plentiful legs" - keeps such a low profile that for the rest of the 20th century the species was thought to be extinct. Then University of Arizona entomologist Paul Marek spied one near Silicon Valley. Full story>>
5. Turtles Urinate Via Their Mouths - a First
When a species of soft-shelled turtle in China piddles in puddles, it does so through its mouth - the first evidence of an animal doing so, scientists reported in October.
The findings could also have stomach-churning implications for humans with kidney failure, scientists say. Full story>>
4. Rare Maned Lionesses Explained
If it looks like a male lion and is perceived as a male lion - well, sometimes it isn't. That's the case of Africa's unusual maned lionesses, which sport a male's luxurious locks and may even fool competitors.
Though uncommon, maned lionesses have been regularly sighted in the Mombo area of Botswana's Okavango Delta (including the individual pictured above), where the lion population may carry a genetic disposition toward the phenomenon, experts say. Full story>>
3. Genitalia-Headed Fish is Evolutionary Mystery
How's this for a head turner? A tiny new species of fish from Vietnam sports its genitalia on its noggin.
Phallostethus cuulong is only the 22nd known species of its family, Phallostethidae, all of which bear their copulatory organs just behind their mouths. Full story>>
2. World's Weirdest Penis Studied
When National Geographic Emerging Explorer Lucy Cooke headed to Tasmania, Australia, this year, she was on the lookout for the echidna, an ancient termite-eating hedgehog with a four-headed penis. (Read more about Cooke's National Geographic Channel show Freaks & Creeps.)
As Cooke wrote on her blog in July, "This extraordinary member has four distinct heads and looks like a stumpy hand with no thumb waving at me. Or some sort of weird sea anemone. It definitely doesn't look like any penis I have ever seen before. Thankfully."
1. Giant Mysterious Eyeball Found on Florida Beach
Perhaps reminiscent of the infamous Montauk monster, a softball-size eyeball washed up in Florida in October (as if Florida needed anything else weird). The Internet was buzzing with questions: whose eye is it? What is it? A few days later, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported that the "mystery eyeball" appears to belong to a swordfish. Full story>>
For being justifiably weird, gross, and mysterious all at the same time, the giant eyeball is our weirdest story of 2012.
[Source: National Geographic News. Edited.]
Related Posts:


text:
Dear Sen. Biden,
I don't have to remind you of the importance of this Thursday's debate from a political perspective. But as you prepare, I invite you to spare a few minutes to look at the opportunity from a moral and religious perspective. You may wish to examine your conscience regarding how you have acted on key foreign policy issues and reflect on John 8:32: "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."
The holy days of religious traditions serve a very useful purpose, if we but take the time to pause and ponder. I write you on Rosh Hashanah, the first of 10 days focusing on repentance.
In Judaism's oral tradition, Rosh Hashanah is the day when people are held to account. The wicked are "blotted out of the book of the living," while the righteous are inscribed in the book of life. Those in the middle are given ten days to repent, until the holiday of Yom Kippur the solemn Day of Atonement.
If that has a familiar ring to it, Joe, we heard it in as many words at Mass last Sunday in the first reading, from Ezekiel 18: "If one turns from wickedness and does what is right and just, that one will live."
Same Tradition
At Rosh Hashanah the ram's horn trumpet blows to waken us from our slumber and alert us to the coming judgment. Rabbi Michael Lerner has been a ram's horn for me. On Sept. 28, he sent a note addressing forgiveness and repentance.
He encourages us to find a private place to say aloud how we've hurt others, and then to go to them and ask forgiveness. "Do not mitigate or 'explain' just acknowledge and sincerely ask for forgiveness," says Rabbi Lerner. He suggests we ask for "guidance and strength to rectify those hurts and to develop the sensitivity to not continue acting in a hurtful way."
Again, a familiar ring. Think, Joe, about the instruction we both received as Irish "cradle Catholics." Surely you will remember the emphasis on examining one's conscience, confessing, and pledging to "sin no more." The phrase comes back, clear as a bell; we were to "confess our sins, do penance, and amend our life, Amen." Remember?
And remember how clean we felt at the end of that therapeutic process? I was reminded of that by Monday's gospel reading from John 1, in which Jesus says of Nathaniel: "Here is a true child of Israel; there is no duplicity in him." Just think of how Nathaniel must have felt.
Joe, you can feel that clean; but one cannot shortcut the process. You must first come clean on your role in greasing the skids for President George W. Bush's war of aggression on Iraq. I use "war of aggression" advisedly, for that is the term used by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson to denote "the supreme international crime, differing from other war crimes only in that it contains the accumulated evil of the whole."
There is no getting around that despite the reluctance of church, state, and the Fawning Corporate Media (FCM) to acknowledge it. I imagine that you, as a lawyer, have moments of acute shame over our country's flouting of international law and the UN Charter, duly ratified by the Senate and thus the law of the land.
And there is no getting away from the important role you played in roping Congress into facilitating that war. Were the war not to have killed, injured, and displaced hundreds of thousands, your lame circumlocutions regarding your own culpability would be laughable on a par with, say, some of the recent comments of your rival for vice president. But they are in no way funny.
Fulsome Prose
For my own penance, I made myself read again through your marathon, "in-depth" interview with the late Tim Russert on April 29, 2007. Your comments are notable for two things: (1) periodic sentences that can be diagrammed only by a German philologist with the patience of Job in waiting for verbs and an empty quiver for dangling participles; and (2) lies.
It is not hard to spot the lies half-hidden in the underbrush of euphemism and circumlocution. I do not refer to relatively harmless ones like your firm denial of any interest in running for vice president. I'm talking about the real whoppers the ones we used to call mortal sins. Despite the goings-on in Washington in recent years, Joe, I don't believe anyone has actually passed legislation repealing the commandment against false witness. It's time you come clean.
Confess What?
For some reason, you were calling for an invasion of Iraq and making unsupported claims about its "weapons of mass destruction" even before President George W. Bush came into office. Later, on Aug. 4, 2002, after it had become clear to many of us that Bush was intent on attacking Iraq, you declared that the U.S. was probably going to war. That was three weeks before Vice President Dick Cheney voiced his spurious "intelligence" and set the terms of reference for the war. And it was a month before the administration launched its marketing campaign for the new "product."
You became the administration's most important congressional backer of Bush's preemptive-with-nothing-to-preempt war advocated by neoconservatives and various oil-thirsty functionaries.
Former UN weapons inspector and ex-U.S. Marine Maj. Scott Ritter was correct in describing the hearings you chaired during the summer and fall of 2002, from which you were careful to exclude Ritter and other expert witnesses, as a "sham to provide political cover for a massive military attack on Iraq." What the country needed was an appropriately skeptical Sen. William Fulbright who listened to dissenters after he got burned on Vietnam. Instead, you took unusual pains to ensure that those dissenting on Iraq would not get a fair hearing.
Ritter: "While we were never able to provide 100 percent certainty regarding the disposition of Iraq's proscribed weaponry, we did ascertain a 90-95 percent level of verified disarmament. It is clear that Sen. Biden and his colleagues have no interest in such facts." Indeed, just before the Senate voted to give Bush authorization to attack Iraq, you plagiarized Cheney in assuring your Senate colleagues that Iraq "possesses chemical and biological weapons and is seeking nuclear weapons."
And why, tell us, Joe, why did you join Sen. John McCain and others in voting against the amendment offered by Sen. Carl Levin that would have forced the president to obtain UN Security Council approval before launching war on Iraq?
'Explaining' the Unexplainable
Then, in 2007, when your catastrophic misjudgments were obvious and hundreds of thousands were dead and maimed, you borrowed administration rhetoric to "explain" to Russert how "everyone in the world thought Saddam had them [WMD]." That was rank hyperbole. When you added, "The weapons inspectors said he had them," that was a lie.
Please, no more torturous explanations of the kind you gave Russert; I mean like this one: "It [the resolution] allowed the president to go to war. It did not authorize him to go to it." Come on, Joe. The resolution says: "The president is authorized to use the armed forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate." Sen. Robert Byrd, who, unlike you and other Senate Democrats, had no presidential ambitions, rightly observed at the time that those who "voted for a use-of-force resolution handed a 'blank check' to the president."
When the war/occupation brought bloody chaos, you expressed regret only that the Bush people weren't doing it right. For example, in 2004 you told Charlie Rose and in 2007 Russert: "If I'd known that they were going to be so incompetent in using it, I would have never, ever given them the authority." So you approve of preemptive war as long as no one botches the job?
More recently, Joe, you have said of your vote to authorize the war: "It was a mistake. I regret my vote." Pardon the comparison, but you sound like the disgraced Colin Powell, who has expressed regret only for the "blot" on his record. But wait, Joe: "Imagine All the People."
Im-Palin Old Joe
If you do not find my suggestion for confession and repentance morally compelling, Joe, then think of it this way. Your debate partner on Thursday evening will be loaded for bear. I assume you wish to avoid being field dressed.
Ain't no way out of your dilemma but by making a clean breast of it, Joe. She is going to wave her finger at you and quote your fulsome remarks at length no stranger she to dangling participles. She will do a John Kerry on you, which worked so well four years ago. You were for the war before you were against it, she will wink. And she will have a field day, if not a field dressing.
I don't know what your motives were in giving the president permission to attack Iraq whether it was the neoconservative-cum-Israel-lobby cabal, the Cheney notion that the only way to ensure the supply of foreign oil is to control it, or a calculated move to ensure your viability as a candidate for president (the kind of thinking that turned out to be, deservedly, the kiss of death for Sen. Hillary Clinton). You had more luck, landing on your feet sort of.
But you are a "grave and growing" danger (so to speak) to the campaign of Sen. Obama; that is, unless you mount a (God forgive me) "preemptive attack." And you have only one day not 10 in which to prepare. It will not wait for Yom Kippur.
Here's What You Do
And it makes sense from a practical, as well as a moral, point of view. Forget the natural inclination to try to defend the indefensible on your cheerleading for the war. To claim you were fooled by the administration, after almost 30 years in the Senate, is not going to be any more persuasive or exculpatory than to cite what other pressures you may have yielded to.
Here's an idea that might not have occurred to you, since it involves a practice that has been out of vogue for so long. Shock everyone by telling the truth! (But briefly, please.)
Some suggested text:
Gov. Palin, I feel terrible about the role I played in helping President Bush launch this godforsaken war. I confess; it was a terrible decision. I apologize to you and to other mothers whose children have been sent to Iraq, to the hundreds of thousands who have died and been injured, to all Americans and all Iraqis. And I ask for forgiveness. I have learned a painful but powerful lesson; you can count on me never letting that kind of thing happen again.
Heed Rabbi Lerner's caution: "Do not mitigate or 'explain' just acknowledge and sincerely ask for forgiveness."
Now, Joe, to be quite honest, I cannot guarantee a good result from this kind of approach, since I have no empirical evidence. That is, although I've been in Washington 45 years, I've not seen unvarnished honesty ever risked in quite this way. But I am guessing it could be quite disarming, and could send your debate partner scurrying for less effective talking points.
You will be debating a "fundamentalist," but that is actually a misnomer. The fundamentals of Judeo-Christian morality have to do with truth- telling, justice, and concern for the unprivileged. Confessing, forgiving, and repenting are also fundamentals. Don't be ashamed of them, Joe. Embrace them. My guess is that if you do, you will leave your debate partner shocked if not speechless.
In the process, you will have succeeded in drawing a stark contrast between the "lies to nowhere" that she continues to tell on the one hand, and your (hopefully) terse, disarming honesty, on the other. You will be free to go ahead and demonstrate that in John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin, no presidential candidate in the history of this country has made a more irresponsible selection for his running mate.
And best of all, you will be able to sit back and smile next Sunday as you listen to the second Scripture reading (from Philippians 4): "Whatever is true, honorable, and just think about these and keep on doing them. Then the God who gives peace will be with you."
Let Nathaniel be your model: no duplicity.
Ray McGovern
This article first appeared on ConsortiumNews.com.


text:
If getting up close to the Mona Lisa was never easy, in the wake of Da Vinci Code fever it's now almost as challenging as the puzzle at the heart of Dan Brown's blockbuster. But come on a Wednesday or Friday evening for one of the Louvre's late openings, and you'll find things considerably quieter.
Make your way along the shadowy, labyrinthine corridors to the outstanding Italian collection, where the famous Grande Galerie, its blonde parquet stretching into the dark distance, displays all the great names in Italian Renaissance art: Mantegna, Botticelli, Titian, Bellini, Raphael, Veronese. And then, of course, there's Leonardo's Mona Lisa herself – without the daytime swarms, you may get the opportunity to truly appreciate this strange and beguiling painting.
For hundreds more ultimate travel experiences, get Rough Guides' Make The Most Of Your Time On Earth


text:
Runners on the 2011 Vancouver Sun Run have an additional hurdle to get over this year - a two-alarm fire at an apartment building on Beach Avenue.
Firefighters ushered runners around the blaze at 9:40am as officials endeavoured to get the situation under control with a minimum of impact to the 49,000+ runners on the route.
Smoke could be seen billowing out of the windows of an upper north apartment at 1949 Beach Ave as fire engines attended the scene.
An official press release said fire personnel arrived on scene to find flames and smoke showing from a 3rd floor suite.
"Damage to the suite is extensive, and there is a significant amount of smoke and water damage to the rest of the building. Two patients were taken to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation.
A number of residents will be displaced for an unknown duration. Emergency Social Services is assisting these residents."
The fire started as a result of candles being used.


text:
College Student Gets Pulled Over For Speeding At 22 MPH & Hood Cop Shows Out!
"College Student gets pulled over for speeding and everything goes wrong" - @DJ_WillieB
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
Comments will only be displayed by verified emails. No Spamming or Racism.


text:
The PlayStation 3 is more than just a gaming console. It's your entertainment hub! And GameStop has everything you need to keep your PlayStation 3 gaming going strong. We'll continue to bring you all the latest PS3 games well into the future, and provide you with hundreds of pre-owned games and PS3 accessories to help you save toward the next-gen console of your choice.
Don't forget, we want to keep you up to date on all the latest PlayStation 3 information, including upcoming games and their release dates, new technological breakthroughs, the latest innovations in gaming and entertainment, and so much more.
Keep checking your GameStop emails for the latest info on the PS3, including PS3 game titles and release dates, PS3 accessories and more!


text:
Available ebook formats: epub mobi pdf lrf pdb txt html
Linda Maye Adams was probably the least likely person to be in the Army—even the Army thought so! She was an enlisted soldier and served for twelve years and was one of the women who deployed to Desert Storm. But she'd much prefer her adventures to be in books. She is the author of the military-based GALCOM Universe series, including the novels Crying Planet and Lonely Planet. She's also received three honorable mentions in the Writers of the Future contest and an honorable mention in Alfred Hitchcock Magazine's contest. Linda is a native of Los Angeles, California, and currently lives in Northern Virginia. Find out more about Linda Maye Adams on her website at http://www.lindamayeadams.com.


text:
For this year Easter, I purposely bake these Easter Bunny shaped Macarons for few of the friends here during our dinner yesterday. Why I chose Bunny? The bunny in Easter has long been associated with fertility, and have therefore been associated with spring and spring festivals. According to the history, the bunny as a symbol of Easter seems to have originated in Germany where it was first recorded in writings in the 16th century. The first edible Easter bunnies, made from sugared pastry, were made in Germany in the 19th century.
2 large egg white
1/2 cup ground almond
1/2 cup icing sugar
Red food colouring
Raspberries cream
Edible Black Pen (I bought from US)
Step-by-step on how to make macarons
- Preheat the oven to 150C.
- Finely ground almonds & icing sugar in a blender. Strain the mixture.
- Beat the egg white with mixer until stiff.
- Strain the almond sugar mixture over the beat egg white and fold together.
- Put drops of red food colouring.
- Fill the mixture into piping bag and pipe into bunny shapes. Make a round first then follow with 2 long shapes as ears.
- Dried for few minutes and bake it around 10-12 minutes.
- Cool them down and remove by using spatula.
- Assemble them with filling the fresh raspberries cream.
- Draw bunny face features by using edible black pen.
- Put into fridge up to at least 24 hours before serving.


text:
Liked the flight attendant who slid away from his job with two beers and a curse-filled rant? Check out this woman who sent her entire office a series photos of herself with dry-erase board messages.
Turns out Jenny will miss all of her colleagues, except one. I'd say more, but that would ruin the surprise.
I can't say for sure that this is legitimate, but it sure is funny. And now I know what a HOPA is.